Vibe Coding Cleanup as a Service A growing service in tech addresses a critical issue: most AI-generated code is not ready for production. Companies increasingly hire specialists for "Vibe Coding cleanup" to fix AI-induced technical debt before it spirals out of control. The Vibe Coding Explosion Coined by Andrej Karpathy in early 2025, "vibe coding" refers to developers writing code by chatting with AI models instead of manual coding. AI coding tools promise 10x productivity, with 92% of developers using them (e.g., GitHub Copilot generating billions of lines monthly). However, AI-assisted code shows 41% more churn (code rewrites/reversions within weeks) and tends to be less secure despite developers’ confidence. Common issues include lack of input validation, outdated dependencies, and poor architectural decisions. The Cleanup Economy is Real An emerging market of specialists ("vibe coders fixers") charge premium rates to disentangle "AI spaghetti": messy, inconsistent, redundant, and illogical code. Services like Ulam Labs advertise Vibe Coding cleanup actively. VibeCodeFixers.com, a dedicated marketplace, quickly onboarded 300 specialists and matches dozens of projects weekly. Clients typically have burned through expensive AI credits and hold emotionally attached but unstable prototypes. Why AI Code Fails at Scale AI writes locally optimized code without true system context. AI excels at small tasks but struggles with overall architecture, creating inconsistent patterns, duplicated logic, and subtle security flaws. 40% of AI-generated code contains security vulnerabilities, including secret leaks, deprecated libraries usage, and race conditions. Developers frequently lack understanding of generated code, leading to "competency debt" where teams lose confidence maintaining their own systems. Market Opportunity Gartner predicts 75% of enterprise engineers will use AI code assistants by 2028, driving massive demand for cleanup services. Startups save time getting to MVP with AI but spend a comparable amount on refactoring and stabilization. Cleanup specialists command rates of $200-$400 per hour. Productized services include fixed-price cleanup, AI code audits, and “vibe-to-production” pipelines. ThoughtWorks found 60% of AI-assisted projects need significant refactoring pre-production. Consultancies now hire specifically for “AI code remediation.” Impact on Engineering Careers AI acts like "expensive junior engineers" — rapid code output with constant supervision needs. Cleanup experts become highly valued, senior-level contributors. Junior devs mastering cleanup can fast-track to senior roles. Companies investing in robust cleanup processes gain a competitive edge. Donado Labs’ Approach Donado Labs specializes in cleaning up vibe-coded projects, using AI for prototyping and routine tasks but leaving architecture, critical logic, testing, security, and documentation to senior engineers. Their "Vibe to Production" service converts AI prototypes into enterprise-ready software. Success comes from smart AI use, coupled with professional cleanup to avoid compounding technical debt. The true opportunity lies not in AI replacing programmers, but in those cleaning and stabilizing AI-generated code. --- Crafted in Berlin 🇩🇪 and Barranquilla 🇨🇴.